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Monday, March 21, 2016

Why I Write Middle Grade

Why do I write Middle Grade? I couldanswer this question with seventy-five multi-coloried heart emojis, but I'll dig deeper. The thing I love the most is writing
about fiercely strong kids. They take risks and figure things out They've
got troubles, but – and this especially holds for my heroine- they look monsters
straight in the eye.

Pull up a beanbag, 'cause here’s where I’ll get a little personal. When I was a middle
grader myself, I had a different personality profile. At the start of 6th grade, I
was seized by out-of-nowhere anxiety. During
the school day, I was afraid to talk to people, and didn’t know how to dress
myself beyond throwing a giant sweatshirt over my weird, changing body. I kept
my head down, and tried to be as invisible as humanly possible. One day a popular girl complemented my necklace and my body
inexplicably morphed into that of a petrified house mouse, I scurried into a hole in the wall l and lived off of discarded Lunchable scraps for the next two
years.*

I had an Eddie Munster haircut and insomnia, but I also had books. Awesome books. Books
about mice that were actually warriors...

and chubby short people who
love bread (like me) who could take on a dragon

...or save the whole
world.

I got lost, then found my way in the stories, and they became the
architecture of me. Not the grades, or clothes, or even friends, but the inside
stuff that stays permanent.

When I started out writing The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee, I wanted to build a kick-butt adventure with ghosthunters, science, magic, and blueberry pancakes. But I think maybe my
characters want to make a lot of noise. They shout out –

“Weird is cool!”

“It’s awesome to be different!”

"Who cares about your dumb haircut?! You can save the world!"

... And if they yell loud
enough, maybe someone fighting that good fight through adolescence will hear them and feel a little better about flying their own flag and managing their own bangs. Hair grows out, guys - stories are forever.